Club Obi Wan

I am generally loathe to post pictures of gear, but for this I have to make an exception. My post isn't necessarily about "how do you like my new whip?": I want to say a couple of things about Gus' attention to customer service and how, for me, he really bent over backwards to stand behind his product.
Gus, without any prompting or general Gearhead hassling, kept up consistant telephone, e-mail, and PM communication to ensure me that everything was being done to satisfy my order. Without going into specifics, I was extremely dissatisfied with the purchase of a particular ( used ) whip. Gus went over the details, the pros and cons of what could be done to make me happy with what I had on hand, and ultimately helped me get what I wanted from a whip at this point. He made every effort to get me sorted out in VERY short order, especially considering his current workload ( this was around Halloween, when I'm sure he had many hounds barking at his door...).
Gus made me feel like I was the most important customer on his list, and I hope ( and believe ) that all of his customers recieve this same sense of satisfaction. I'd like to take the time on this semi-public forum to say "Thank You" Gus, and I look forward to furture dealings.

Here's a couple of detail shots of my 8 plait, 8 foot whip from Purewhips. These are (obviously) outdoors, no color correction, with some artifacts to give reference:

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj29 ... 2672-1.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj29 ... 2669-1.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj29 ... 2670-1.jpg

Thanks for looking, and thanks again Gus.

I had a similar experience with Gus. He is top notch as far as I'm concerned. I highly recommend doing business with him!

maboot38 wrote:I had a similar experience with Gus. He is top notch as far as I'm concerned. I highly recommend doing business with him!

I'll second that. Gus is a GREAT guy to do business with. I love my 8ft. 8 plt. from Gus.

That's probably one of the better Gus whips I've seen so far.

It's good to see that one thing he's strong in, which is customer service. Many people lack in that area, but it looks like Gus is good.

Good to hear!

Can I ask a favor of you? I'd like to know how much the whip weighs!

Shane

Gus does a good job, my son loves his new whip form him.

Regards,

Soup

I just received Gus's Budget whip yesterday and I'll post pics as soon as can but I had to chime in. To say Gus is outstanding in Customer service is an understatement in the least! The emails and pics of the whip making process are above and beyond in my book let alone the friendly chats. Kudos to Gus!! I just wonder if every whip maker is as easy to deal with as he is. I already know were whip #2 will be coming from.

That is a truly gorgeous whip!!!!!

The one I bought from Gus was a natural tan 8 foot 12 plait, and wasn't available that dark when Gus made it for me. Still, I think it will continue to darken with time and use. Here are some pics of it:

maboot38,
Very nice looking whip. I hope to be able to afford something more along those lines in the future.

McFly,
This whip, according to Gus, is 1lbs 3oz.*

So far, so good. I'm having a great time practicing with this whip - watching a video post, then running outside to try it. It feels like I'm seven years old...



*Edit: a bit ago that said 11lbs....uhhhhh.....

McFly -

I watched some of your videos this morning. You have cut about 50% of the energy expenditure out of my throws. Thanks! Unfortunately, that comes after some "muscling", resulting in aggravation to the fall.
'Sokay, though - I'm getting a great, consistant crack now ( 4 outta 5 times ). Your video struck a solid chord where my confidence and timidity crossed, if that makes sense. Very comprehensive. Thanks!

This is my first "real" whip, and I have to say, if I could have done better for the price, that would come as a shock to me. This is going to be a lot of fun, and you can't have fun with shoddy stuff. It's like trying to learn guitar on a Sears' Kay model that you got at the pawn shop; that's only going to lead to frustration. Start off with a Martin or a Gibson and you're gonna sound good, feel good, and you're going to want to improve. This whip may not be a Gibson, but I'd say it's at least a good Epiphone.

I'd like to see McFly's clips. Can someone post the link?

kiltie wrote:McFly -

I watched some of your videos this morning. You have cut about 50% of the energy expenditure out of my throws. Thanks! Unfortunately, that comes after some "muscling", resulting in aggravation to the fall.
'Sokay, though - I'm getting a great, consistant crack now ( 4 outta 5 times ). Your video struck a solid chord where my confidence and timidity crossed, if that makes sense. Very comprehensive. Thanks!

This is my first "real" whip, and I have to say, if I could have done better for the price, that would come as a shock to me. This is going to be a lot of fun, and you can't have fun with shoddy stuff. It's like trying to learn guitar on a Sears' Kay model that you got at the pawn shop; that's only going to lead to frustration. Start off with a Martin or a Gibson and you're gonna sound good, feel good, and you're going to want to improve. This whip may not be a Gibson, but I'd say it's at least a good Epiphone.

Hey, I have one of Gus' whips, an 8 ft 12 plait, and it ain't no Epiphone. I like to think of it as a Gibson Les Paul Studio. Its got the tone and feel of a Les Paul standard without all the excess. I have a couple Epiphone's and a Gibson, so I can make an accurate comparisson.

Dave

kiltie wrote:McFly - I watched some of your videos this morning. You have cut about 50% of the energy expenditure out of my throws. Thanks! Unfortunately, that comes after some "muscling", resulting in aggravation to the fall.
'Sokay, though - I'm getting a great, consistant crack now ( 4 outta 5 times ). Your video struck a solid chord where my confidence and timidity crossed, if that makes sense. Very comprehensive. Thanks!

Hey! Great to hear! I like to try and cut out the energy from my throws mostly so that I can keep up some kind of good form, but also to try and preserve the life of the whip. Thanks so much for your compliment, and I'm very glad that it's helped you! After all, that's why I made them!

Regarding the weight of the whip, that makes sense. I've always felt Gus's whips were too light for me, and that's because my Stenhouse is almost 2 pounds! That's quite a difference!

maboot38

Here are a few of my videos, which I feel show a good representation of my current style. I do have more videos out there, but they were made before my training with Anthony Delongis.

The Forward Flick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XfAgsJ0VmE

The Cairo Flash
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDEKwlWId2k

Some works-in-progress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKspVFuLkX4

Shane

I too have a Gus whip and its very nice! Cracks like like thunder!

kiltie wrote: Gus, without any prompting or general Gearhead hassling, kept up consistant telephone, e-mail, and PM communication to ensure me that everything was being done to satisfy my order.

Yep, I once sent him an email when I had a question and it so happened I received a response in under 3 minutes. I'm sure it was partly timing, but boy, that is service.

Hey I would like to say thanks to everyone and all the great and awesome comments. I do my hardest to satisfy all my customers. I understand that it is impossible to satisfy everyone but I am very happy that everyone who has come my way has been happy with their purchase.

Maboot thanks for the pictures. Looks really good.

Bigrex yes I do answer all emails as fast as I can get to them. On your I have just sat down to check emails and your came in as I was replying to all my others that came in that day.
I am still working on trying to get many that come in on my bulk email to my reg email.

kiltie I am very happy you like the whip. Again I am sorry it took so long but I'm sure it was worth the wait.

McFly cool vids, 2lbs is heavy. My whips are in the weight of 1lb 3oz to 1lb 8oz. on my 8ft whips. I had a whip that was heavy but it ended up hurting and making me tired very fast. I like cracking for long periods of time and with different whips.

Don't know anything about guitars but it sound like you are comparing me to a good one.

Billsid29 you are the first one to have one of my Budget whips. I am shipping out 4 on monday. I hope.

Really thanks for everything. Guys if it wasn't for you I would not be here making these whips.

Thanks ok getting back to work now.

Gus Caicedo Jr
www.purewhips.com

More kudos for Gus here. Although I didn't get the level of communication enjoyed by the OP, Gus was patient and courteous, replying promptly to all emails. The price is great and the 8 ft, 8 plait whip I received is lovely. In a couple of spots, one plait had slipped under another (producing a slight kink in the whip), but I was carefully able to tease one of them out, so no biggie. Already the whip is beginning to darken with use.

I was so zealous with my first cracking section with the new whip that I had to trim off some destroyed fall.

EDIT: I had a nice talk with Gus earlier today and he explained that what I had noticed was the dropping of a strand, which is a bit tougher to do in cow than in roo hide. It's great that Gus takes such obvious pride in his work and interest in his customers' satisfaction.

I am patiently awaiting the arrival of my 8' 8 plait Indy whip. I felt bad ordering it so close to the holidays but Gus wrote me and let me know it would just be the regular 4 week wait. I am one week down and three to go. I don't mind waiting, just shows how popular his work is right now.